Earth Day grows into extravaganza

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By Jennifer Harper

Hug a tree. Recycle. Fret about global warming.

Just don't forget the, uh, poop bags - the environmentally correct, biodegradable, recyclable, sustainable "green" poop bags, that is. They are guaranteed to reduce a "dog's carbon pawprint."

Yes, Earth Day has come to this.

Entrepreneurs and marketers are intent on rebranding America's most sanctimonious holiday into something a little more down-to-earth - an antidote, perhaps, to the fearful alarmist fare of recent years. Earth Day, which used to fall on April 22 alone, has now blossomed into a week's worth of events, with a multitude of sponsors.

Poop bags are only the beginning. Biodiversity has taken on a whole new meaning these days.

Those who want to do their part for Mother Earth can assuage their guilty consumer conscience with earth-friendly aquarium cleaners, repurposed handbags, recycled phones, organic lipsticks and sustainable toilet seats. Mega-companies from Wal-Mart to Tropicana and American Airlines are offering Earth Day promotions to help the nation learn to recycle, precycle and have a nice little kumbaya fix.

"We want to elevate Earth Day to major holiday status. There are tons of people who don't identify with the whole 'grim tree-hugger' mindset. That's just old, mainstream - and boring, too. Where's the emotional impact? Americans just can't relate," said Kristyn Hutzell Moll, managing director of Avalon Communications, a Texas-based marketing agency that represents Poop Bags, Evergreen Candleworks and a dozen other eco-entrepreneurs.

"We're bringing ecology down to the everyday level. Nice and accessible. Like the poop bags. I have two dogs myself, and the fact I was using plastic baggies to preserve their waste for all time, well, that didn't make sense," Ms. Hutzell Moll said.

Indeed, amid all the humorous asides, Poop Bags - a Chicago manufacturer that also offers biodegradable cat pan liners - is big on science, emphasizing the fact that the bags are made of corn fibers and will completely decompose in about two months.

There are so many eco-products now that even the uber-marketers are having a hard time tracking them all.